It was in
the town-hall, after a council meeting, that he first became aware of
Farfrae's coup for establishing himself independently in the town; and
his voice might have been heard as far as the town-pump expressing his
feelings to his fellow councilmen. These tones showed that, though under
a long reign of self-control he had become Mayor and churchwarden and
what not, there was still the same unruly volcanic stuff beneath the
rind of Michael Henchard as when he had sold his wife at Weydon Fair.
"Well, he's a friend of mine, and I'm a friend of his--or if we are not,
what are we? 'Od send, if I've not been his friend, who has, I should
like to know? Didn't he come here without a sound shoe to his voot?
Didn't I keep him here--help him to a living? Didn't I help him to
money, or whatever he wanted? I stuck out for no terms--I said 'Name
your own price.' I'd have shared my last crust with that young fellow
at one time, I liked him so well. And now he's defied me! But damn him,
I'll have a tussle with him now--at fair buying and selling, mind--at
fair buying and selling! And if I can't overbid such a stripling as he,
then I'm not wo'th a varden! We'll show that we know our business as
well as one here and there!"
His friends of the Corporation did not specially respond. Henchard was
less popular now than he had been when nearly two years before, they
had voted him to the chief magistracy on account of his amazing
energy.
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